Notes: So... this is my first ever one-shot posted on this site, which I've haven't used in over a decade. Keep in mind that the stories I'll be posting right now will be ones that I've already posted to Ao3 several months ago. Then I'll create some new stuff in the future. I actually remember at the time I wrote this back in January, I was pretty salty with what they were doing to Elias's character at the time, but to make a long story short, the Ezekiel gimmick eventually grew on me and now the gimmick's gone so it really doesn't even matter at this point. So enjoy this little one-shot my salty little brain came up with, I guess. And leave reviews/comments after because I would love to communicate with others on here. (Also, I don't remember how the formatting is supposed to work here, so if all my paragraphs are all bunched up and just look like a big block of text, please bare with me and I'll try to fix it as soon as I can! Some pointers would really help!)

Warnings for kayfabe breaking and some implied sexual content. If anybody is disturbed by these topics, you might want to back out. As for the rest of you, enjoy!

Summary: After being forced to drastically change his appearance due to sharing some absurd similarities with a late wrestler, Elias is feeling too self conscious to try showing himself off to the locker room and even his own tag team partner! Hoping to bring him back to his old self centered ways, Jeff tries to find a way to remedy the situation.

Jeff sighed in frustration as he fidgeted with the pen in his hand. It was the start of another mundane week. Travel, perform, find a place to rest, and repeat. It was a simple cycle that he was used to following, and he hadn't been expecting this start of the week to be any different.

At least that was what he thought while he was sketching out in his drawing pad, brainstorming for ideas to form, only to come up with nothing. After finishing up his performance work for the week, he and his tag partner had been stuck at the rundown motel for the night. He could barely wait to leave. The peeling paint on the walls and the strange, old scent that came from the bedsheets was starting to get to him.

His attention was diverted once he heard Elias yelling from the bathroom. Straying away from his art supplies, he walked towards his partner's voice, stopping at the front of the door. As he got closer, he could hear muttering and a series of curses.

Jeff didn't understand why. During the course of several months of being a tag team and spending so much time on the road, they had pretty much memorized all of each other's habits by now. So It wasn't uncommon for Elias to spend an unusually long amount of time, knowing how long it took for him to properly groom and present himself.

However, it seemed to take even longer than what was usually expected, which quickly raised alarms. Choosing to not barge in, he knocked lightly on the door. "Elias? Is everything ok in there?"

No response. Jeff was now definitely worried, especially once he caught the sound of a choked back groan. "I'm coming in, ok?"

Jeff opened the door, only to be greeted with a really strange sight. Elias didn't even seem to notice him, as he was leaning against the sink. Jeff's eyes trailed, and he noticed a pair of scissors lying on the countertop, along with a razor. A comb was clutched in the drifter's fist, and his face was hidden by his hair… which now looked considerably shorter.

Then Jeff noticed the piles of dark brown locks that littered the tiled floor. Making his way towards him, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Elias? Can you look at me?"

Elias seemed to hesitate on doing so, until he felt his shoulder being squeezed as a sign of comfort. Sighing in defeat, he tossed the comb into the sink before turning around to face him.

Jeff's eyes nearly widened to the size of saucers. "Oh… wow."

"I know," Elias muttered, "It's hideous. You can go ahead and make fun of it now."

"Elias," Jeff took his hand, squeezing it as he grazed his fingers against the stubble that remained on his cheeks. The overgrown beard that he was commonly known for when it came to his appearance, had now been sheared away, and his long hair was now cropped. "What is this? Why did you…"

There was an uncomfortable pause before Elias said, "I was forced to."

Jeff's jaw dropped. Who the hell would force him to do something like this? Certainly not him! And Elias looked absolutely miserable, so it couldn't have been by his choice.

"Who forced you?" Jeff asked before a realization came to him. There was only one person that he could think of that would give such a ridiculous demand, and that would be his own boss. "Did Vince ask you to do this? Is your job being threatened? Cause believe you me, I will go right up to his office and chew him out myself if I have to!"

"No!" Elias suddenly raised his voice and he grabbed Jeff by the shoulders, a little more roughly than he intended. "Don't do that! I've already gotten into trouble with him. I don't need you to add to that!"

Jeff could only look at his tag partner emphatically. It was scarily unlikely of him to act like this, to be this upset and jumpy. Most of the time, he would appear to be brash towards others and usually had a lot of pride in himself, despite appearing to be a little narcissistic about it.

But right now, Jeff could see none of those attributes. "Elias? Can you please tell me what's going on?"

Elias's eyes wandered down towards the pile of hair on the floor. "To make a long story short, I was told to change my looks. Someone actually took me aside; Said the boss thought I looked too much like someone he used to know… so I ended up cutting my hair. My plans of getting pushed would be all but nixed if I didn't."

Jeff blinked in surprise. "And who would this 'someone' be?"

There was another pause. He breathed slowly before uttering a name that caused Jeff's jaw to once again drop in disbelief, "Randy Savage…"

Jeff seemed to be in some state of shock, registering the information. "You can't be serious."

"You think I would lie about this?" Elias suddenly gave him a sharp glare as he squeezed the enigma's shoulders a little more roughly than he intended to, causing him to flinch.

"That's not what I'm saying at all!" Jeff exclaimed before his eyes wandered back to the scissors. "I'm just at lost at how he could come to that thought?"

"Are you blind?" Elias chuckled without humor as he pointed to himself. "Look at me. I wear bright colors. I wear a bandanna. I have a beard, long hair..." he trailed off once he looked down at the hair on the floor. "Or used to, I guess. I constantly work out. Hell, there are already thousands that have compared me to him already."

"How does that make you too similar to Savage?" Jeff asked. "Lots of people have long hair and wear bright colors. Look at me for example," he referenced to his own hair. "And it's not like you're trying to steal his actual namesake, going around yelling 'Oh Yeah!' and trying to promote Slim Jims for some star power."

Jeff felt a wave of relief wash over him once he heard the sound of Elias's laughter, who clearly had not expected the abrupt exaggerated tone in his voice. At the very least, it had finally seemed to snap him out of his wallowing, and a small smile lingered on his face, for at least a moment, before vanishing.

"The point is," Jeff continued as he grabbed onto his tag team partner's hands, squeezing them again. "It doesn't matter what all those people say. It doesn't matter what Vince says. You are you. Nobody else. It doesn't matter if you resemble somebody else."

"I guess so," Elias responded before looking despondently in the mirror. "But... look at me right now. I've cut everything off. Everything's gone. I don't even feel like myself right now." His voice started to crack as he gripped onto the edge of the sink. "I look terrible."

Jeff's eyes widened at the statement before he gave a sharp glare. "Hey, stop that! Stop that now!"

Elias was abruptly turned away from the mirror, and was now looking into bright green eyes instead, the same ones that he always seemed to be mesmerized by without fail. "I don't wanna hear any of that self deprecating crap come out of you. Sure, you look… different, but you're still the same partner that I've enjoyed teaming up with for several months now. And I really don't think one little haircut is gonna be enough to change that…" The look in his eyes softened as he pulled him into an embrace, hoping to lift some of the tension in the room. Elias took another look at the mirror, still looking a little disheveled, but thankfully, not as miserable.

"You may be right…"

"Now," Jeff pulled away before allowing a small smile to grace his features. "Are you feeling a little better now? Or do I need to show you just how much you matter to me?"

And there it was. That infamous smile was finally back, and there was a hint of fondness in the drifter's eyes. He knew damn well what he was implying, and decided to play along with his banter. "I'm not sure just yet," he quietly answered before pulling the man into his arms, earning a breathy laugh and a shiver. "I think I might just need a little more convincing."

"Of course you do," Jeff rolled his eyes in slight exasperation when he was picked up and brought to the bed without much effort, but his smile still lingered. Despite being almost the same height, Elias never seemed to have a problem when it came to carrying him around.

And if Jeff was being honest with himself, he wouldn't change a thing about it.

The next week for the tag team didn't turn out to be much better. Since he didn't have much material or feuds to currently work with, Elias remained at the hotel for the night, which was at least a lot nicer than where they last stayed. Jeff could only let out an irritated groan. He was lucky that he'd be performing in a singles match.

"Wait, so the boss actually told him to change up his look?" Finn asked incredulously, leaning against the wall. "All because he looked like a former employee of his?"

"That's what he told me," Jeff replied as he worked on an abstract design for his facepaint. "It doesn't make a lick of damn sense, that's for sure. What's worse is that he's not acting like himself. He seems to be more self conscious…"

Finn almost laughed at that comment. "Elias? Self conscious? Those words don't even sound like they fit together."

"Which is exactly why I'm going to do something about this entire thing," Jeff proclaimed before reaching for a bottle of water, pulling it out of his sports bag that sat on the edge of the bench beside him. "And you're gonna help me."

"Oh, is that so?" Finn asked. "I mean, sure I'll help; I'm open to pretty much anything, but I don't think a ménage à trois would be the best idea right now, Jeff."

Jeff ended up spitting up the water and started to cough as Finn began to laugh. After the spell ceased, he vigorously shook his head in denial. "Absolutely not! It's something much more simple, believe me."

"Yeah?" Finn was now curious. "Care to explain?"

Jeff looked at him straight in the eyes before saying, "I need you to help me cut my hair."

Finn appeared shocked for a moment, his body leaving the wall as he began to laugh. "Wait, what!? Jeff, I know I just said that I'd be happy to help you out with mostly anything, but I have a profession in wrestling, not hair styling."

"Which is precisely why I'm asking you," Jeff informed him. "It's not like there's a salon nearby I can go to. And even if there was, it'd most likely be closed by now. I need to get this done tonight. If I do it myself, I would most likely end up getting caught. I can't ask the staff either. That's only done if it ends up actively getting in the way while you perform," He took another sip of water before continuing, "I just want to surprise him, and hopefully lift his spirits. If that makes any sense…"

Finn grew quiet, thinking the situation over before finally grinning. "Come to my room once we get back to the hotel," he informed him. "I'll find some scissors for you."

"Great," Jeff packed up his belongings into a locker, now prepared for whatever kind of match he would be thrown into. He was about to head out, before he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Thanks, Finn. I owe you one for agreeing to this."

"No problem," Finn replied as he leaned back against the wall. "Just remember to be there by around midnight. Won't be as many distractions. If you're able to, make sure to also have some sort of reference with you. Like a picture on your phone or something."

Jeff simply gave him a nod before making his way out of the locker room. "Got it."

Jeff couldn't help but admit that he was feeling a little nervous as he made his way down the hall in search for Finn's room, looking for the number he had been given. During the course of his career, he had only cut his hair to a noticeable degree at least twice: Once during his early years in WWE, and once during TNA, and that haircut gave him some rather embarrassing memories during his time there. He had lost count of how many times he had been compared to some of the women on their roster whenever others made fun of his appearance. He could only shudder at the memories. His entire time being employed in that company was just a disaster in general, and it was something he shouldn't focus on right now. He had more important things to worry about.

Once he finally reached what he assumed was the correct door, he knocked a couple of times, before seeing Finn's smiling face as it was being opened.

"Perfect! Come on inside," he invited his guest into his room before allowing the door to shut and lock behind him.

"Elias is currently back in my room sleeping," Jeff informed, "So we can take as much time as we need.

"Good to know," Finn replied as he walked over towards the bed. "I have everything prepared for you here," he motioned to the items, which consisted of a comb, a pair of scissors, a handheld mirror, and strangely enough, a box of extremely dark red hair dye.

"What's with the dye?" Jeff asked, curiously glancing at it.

"It's just a suggestion, but I thought it would be nice if we put a little color back into your hair," Finn pointed out without offense as he picked up the box, looking it over. "I tried to find something that would look similar to what you have right now. It's extremely dark, so it shouldn't be too distracting to look at; Only seems to reflect the best in brightly lit areas…" Finn trailed off with the unnecessary information before adding, "Do you think you might be willing to give it a try?"

Jeff gave it some thought. It had been a while since he had last dyed it. The color had faded after the course of several months, and the idea seemed too appealing to pass up. He was suddenly feeling very thankful that he had ended up washing his hair hours before. Hell, Finn might actually be doing him an unspoken favor in the long run...

Finally, he gave an answer. "I'll give it a go."

"Cool," Finn responded, opening the box before dragging a chair into the middle of the room. "Just sit down on this chair here, and we can get started."

It certainly took a while. It took several minutes to apply the dye to the desired locations, then he had to wait for several more minutes for it to settle into his hair. But it was all worth it once he was finally able to wash it. After his hair completely dried, he could only look in the bathroom mirror in slight admiration.

"Wow…"

Just like Finn had informed him, the color didn't look too noticeable at first. However, it definitely made a difference once the bright fluorescent lights shined against it.

"Now that that's done with," Finn led Jeff back to the chair in the main room. "Let's cut that hair of yours, shall we?" Before bringing the scissors to his hair, he asked, "Do you have a reference of what you'd like?"

Remembering what he had saved, Jeff pulled out his phone and showed him the picture. Finn's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wow. Are you sure? That's quite short," he took a closer look at the photo.

"I'm sure," Jeff confirmed before leaning back in the chair. "I had some time to think about it. That's what I'll go with."

"Alright then," Finn gave in as he picked the scissors back up. "In that case, let's begin."

Or at least they would have began, if it wasn't for the fact that Finn kept asking him if he was positive and if this was what he really wanted to do. Jeff only showed off a strained smile, his patience wearing thin. "Finn, I really appreciate your concern, believe me. But excuse my rudeness here; Just cut the damn hair already please."

Finn seemed taken aback for a moment before letting out a laugh. "Alright, alright," he gave in and brought the scissors closer to his hair. "I'm sorry. No more stalling."

Jeff closed his eyes as Finn took the comb to straighten out a lock, and started to cut, inch by inch. Despite the tedious process, Finn at least appeared to be making sure he wasn't rushing this at all. It was slow, delicate, almost if he had done this sort of thing before.

"Have you done this before?" Jeff asked, now slightly curious. He heard a chuckle in response.

"I'll be honest with you; Actually had a tag team partner once that would ask me to help with his hair every now and then if there wasn't a place nearby to do it for him," Finn replied. "It wasn't anything special. Just a trim or two. But it did give me some basic practice."

"I see…"

The quietness soon returned with only the sound of the scissors cutting to fill his ears. It felt strangely eerie in a way. It was only when he heard the sound of a triumphant sigh did he know it was finally finished.

"You're all done," Finn announced before leaning back to grab the handheld mirror. "Take a look."

Slowly grabbing the mirror, Jeff took a peek at himself. Then his jaw dropped. Though he knew it was to be expected, it felt… different. A lot different. It definitely felt much lighter than before, only reaching down towards his neck. It also had the strange feeling of it brushing against his skin.

And he didn't regret it a single bit.

"This looks incredible," Jeff smiled from ear to ear. Just wait until his partner caught sight of him! "If you weren't wrestling right now, you should try doing this for a career."

"I think I'm good where I'm at," Finn laughed, "I like to move around a lot. Too much standing in one spot all day."

Jeff stood from the chair, and he then noticed the mess that had littered the floor. "Oh… Didn't realize that much was taken off. I can help you clean up."

"Don't worry about it," Finn waved it off as he started to clean the space up. "You have your tag team partner to go back to, don't you? Go to him."

"Alright," Jeff took a few steps back. "Thank you so much for all of this. I'll definitely find some way to pay you back."

"You really don't have to," Finn replied, "I just wanted to give ya a push in the right direction. Feels good, you know?"

"Yeah, but I feel kinda bad if you didn't get something out of it…" Jeff pondered for a moment before a big grin crept up on his face. "Still into Legos?"

Finn's face immediately lit up, similar to the way a child's would on Christmas Day. "Very much, yes."

"Then that's what I'll get ya," Jeff concluded as he made his way towards the door. "I should be able to get it you by next week."

"Looking forward to it."

Before he stepped outside, Jeff looked over his shoulder. "Thanks again, Finn. For everything."

"No problem," Finn responded before waving him off. "Now hurry! Get back to your room before he wakes up!"

Jeff chuckled at the statement as he stepped out. After he allowed the door to shut behind him, he stood still for a moment, raking his fingers through the soft strands. It really didn't feel all that different than what he used to have. It was just shorter. And slightly redder.

He made his way back to his own room, walking at a brisk pace. In the back of his mind, he wondered how others were going to react; 'others' being both fans and coworkers…

I shouldn't worry about it right now...

Making sure to be as quiet as possible, he slowly opened the door, thankful for the silent hinges before slipping in. To his absolute relief, Elias still seemed to be sound asleep, not even stirring from the noise. He sighed and crawled under the sheets beside him. One bedded rooms were usually picked in order to save funds while traveling long distances, but it eventually had the added benefit of getting the chance to just relax and hold one another after a grueling match or an overall stressful day. Despite all the excitement that continued to nag at him, he eventually allowed his eyes to close.

To say that Elias was in for quite the awakening would be an understatement. Once the soft light of the sun's rays shone in his eyes, he slowly forced himself the will to sit up as an involuntary yawn escaped him. Then he looked to his left.

At first, he almost ended up falling out of the bed, taken off guard. Why was a random stranger sleeping next to him!? Then he looked closer, and he saw the familiar designs on their ink covered neck. The noise was enough for him to stir, and he only locked eyes onto him for a moment, allowing the realization to sink in.

"Jeff?" His eyes widened at the sight that was presented to him. "Is that you?"

Jeff only gave a tired smile as he forced himself to sit up, nervously waiting for his partner's reaction. Elias didn't say anything at first, only gently raking through the shortened locks.

"Is this... did you do this for me?'

Then his breathing temporarily stopped once Jeff leaned closer towards him. The way he felt his lips brushing against his stubbled cheek was all the confirmation he needed to know that the answer was 'yes'. As Jeff pulled back, he could feel his cheeks beginning to flush. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it," Elias finally said as he pulled him into a hug. "But can I ask why you decided to do this? What pushed you do something like this to yourself?"

Jeff sighed before brushing a strand of the reddened hair away from his face. "I really don't know how to put this in any other words… I just wanted to help you feel better. You just looked so miserable whenever you stared at your own reflection," His fingers returned to the shortened locks. "So I decided that maybe it was time for a change. Now you're not the only one who's sporting a strangely different appearance." He grinned at the last statement.

There was an awkward pause before Elias finally responded with, "You… you really didn't have to go to this extreme. It was my problem, after all…"

"Hey, I'm all 'bout extreme," Jeff joked before becoming serious as he held him at arm's length, staring right into his eyes. "Let me tell ya something, right now. Whatever it is that you're going through, even when it's something as miniscule as this, I'll still be here, sticking right by your side."

Elias didn't seem to be fully sold. Jeff then gently cupped his cheek so that he could face him. "Look at me, Elias." When he tried to tear his eyes away, Jeff's voice became a bit more firm. "Look at me."

It took some convincing, but the drifter finally managed to look back into his eyes.

"Do you remember what I told you before? It doesn't matter if you might look vastly similar or different to someone else. It doesn't matter what you look like to me. You're still the same self-centered partner that I fell for… and this little haircut of yours ain't gonna change a damn thing about that." It was now Jeff's turn to bury his fingers into his partner's sheared, messy hair. "Basically, what I'm trying to say is that… you are a beautiful human being, inside as well as out." He continued to coax Elias to keep looking at him, his hands returning to hold onto his stubbled face. "Don't ever let anyone try to convince you otherwise…"

There was another uncomfortable pause, and Jeff wasn't sure if he was even getting across to him. It was only until he found himself laying on his back did he get his answer. And his smile widened once he heard a laugh from above him. From others, it would've been perceived as absolutely rude if someone laughed at them after they tried to comfort them. But he had been with Elias for long enough by now to know that that wasn't the case.

"I'm sorry. That was just so fucking cheesy," Elias leaned down to reach that ink soaked neck that always seemed to be begging to be marked, leaving a reddening love bite to bloom on the skin. "But I get what you're trying to say."

Jeff could only let out a groan of approval from the way his neck was being gently grazed, and with his wrists now pinned against the mattress, Elias continued to leave down a trail until he stopped towards his chest. Jeff might as well have been melting from the close contact. His breathing hitched, his eyes were half lidded, his face was flushed, and his body quickly grew hot as the faint, yet familiar floral scent of the drifter's hair products started to envelope his senses.

"You are just way too good to me…" Elias murmured into his ear. "you know that, right?"

Despite the pleasurable shivers that ran down his spine, Jeff couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "You just took the words right out of my mouth." he quietly replied as more pecks were exchanged. There was a moment where Elias took a quick glance at a clock nearby, and showed off that damn grin in full fource.

"Looks like there's still a few hours left until we actually have to hit the road. Maybe we should put that time to good use."

"Couldn't agree with you more," Jeff simply replied before closing his eyes, feeling chill bumps graze his skin as his tank top was slowly being rucked up.

"You're gonna pay for calling me self centered, by the way," There was a slight tease to Elias's touches now. "Once I get you all worked up, you'll be too busy hollering my name to try saying it again."

"Charming…" Jeff replied flatly as the air around them was quickly thickened by the intimancy. After a long week that took lots of convincing and an abrupt change of looks, he finally had him back; the same self centered, brash athlete that he had come to fall for was finally back to normal, as well as into his arms.

As it should be.

Notes: Yeah, it's a little nonsensical, but hope you at least enjoyed the fluff and spice you were given here. Have a good night and love on everybody, and let me know what you think of this obscure little pairing.